Hot off the heels of today’s announcement that Harrison Ford will once again be donning the fedora as Indiana Jones, news has surfaced that Disney have chosen their shortlist of young actors in the running to play Ford’s other iconic character in the forth coming Han Solo spin off film.
Up until now, any casting news relating to the project has been moving slower than a Sarlacc’s digestive system, but you can sort of understand why the studio would want to take their time making the right decision. When you’re dealing with such a popular character, keeping fans on side is of the utmost importance.
So just who are these young bucks Disney have chosen and do any of them have what it takes to even come close to the high benchmark set by Ford almost 40 years ago? Lets take a look shall we…
Alden Ehrenreich
SO, WHO IS HE?
Probably best known for his work in the 2013 misfire of the the young adult fiction book Beautiful Creatures, and a handful of smaller roles in which he quietly impressed including last month’s Hail, Caesar!
DOES HE LOOK THE PART?
Not particularly. Although Ehrenreich does have an interesting look about him, you’d hardly confuse him with a young Harrison Ford. To paraphrase another Science Fiction movie, if Ehrenreich is going to channel Solo, he’s going to need to act the shit out of this.
COULD HE PULL IT OFF?
Its fair to say Ehrenreich is the outsider’s chance amongst the three shortlisted actors. We will of course stand corrected, but at the moment, it doesn’t quite feel like the right fit.
Jack Reynor
SO, WHO IS HE?
An Irish born actor, Reynor’s big breakthrough came in Transformers: Age of Extinction, but don’t hold that against him. With roles in serious acting fodder like What Richard Did and the upcoming Freeheld, Reynor is the real deal.
DOES HE LOOK THE PART?
Much more so than Ehrenreich, with chiselled features and rugged ruggedness, he’s got the scruffy look down.
COULD HE PULL IT OFF?
Raynor might be able to make the kessel run in less than twelve parsecs, but the real test is whether he can bring the humour required of the role.
Taron Egerton
SO , WHO IS HE?
Egerton burst onto the scene in Kingsmen, and has since been lined up for several high profile leading roles including Robin Hood: Origins and a Kingsmen sequel. In fact, its hard to see how Egerton could possibly have enough time to play Solo in between the other project he has kicking around.
DOES HE LOOK THE PART?
Yes and no. Whilst his features are passable enough if you squint hard enough, he does seem a tad on the baby faced side.
COULD HE PULL IT OFF?
Like Raynor, Egerton is from the other side of the pond, so the biggest hurdle will be getting the accent right. But of all the names shortlisted, he’s the one I have the least trouble picturing in the role. The raw charisma he displayed in Kingsmen shows he can juggle both comedy and action with ease, both of which will serve him well should he be chosen as cinema’s most famous space scoundrel.
Disappointingly, my own personal choice for young Han hasn’t even made the list. Along with most of the internet, I’ve been saying for some time that Garrett Hedlund has both the looks and charisma required to pull off the role with ease. My best guess is that Hedlund was slightly too old to play the version of young Han Disney are envisioning.
Whoever they end up choosing, you can bet people will be up in arms from press release right up until film release. But at the end of the day, its all about the work the chosen actor puts up there on screen.
The Han Solo film has yet to receive an official title and will be released in 2018